Syracuse Basketball Preview

The Syracuse basketball team enters the 2011-2012 season with high expectations. National polls and pundits have Syracuse among the top ten and in most cases, top five best teams in the country.

Forward Rick Jackson is the only significant loss from a team that went 27-8 last year before a crushing second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Marquette. Let’s take a look at this year’s Orange squad.

Guards:

It all starts with enigmatic point guard Scoop Jardine. Last year he drove Orange fans crazy with his inconsistent play and poor crunch-time decisions. Buried in the negatives is the fact that Jardine tied for the conference lead in assists at a shade under six per game. Over the summer he was selected for a USA team and played in China. There is no question he is the most vocal member of the team. As the senior leader, it’s up to Jardine to steer the team and be a steady hand. If he has the confidence in his teammates, expect his scoring to go down and his assists to go up. He’s arguably the best point guard in the conference along with Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs and Louisville’s Peyton Siva.

Next to Jardine is junior Brandon Triche. He’s a hard-to-read player. He rarely shows his emotion during the game but has the ability to be the crunch time scorer the team desperately needs. He trimmed down during the off-season and is finally adjusted to his role as a scorer instead of distributor. This is a make-or-break year for Triche. He has to show Orange fans he can be counted on to make the big play. Last year he was prone to disappearing for large stretches of the game. This year he could continue to be a 12 point per game guy or finally use his talent and make the leap to Big East POY numbers.

The third guard in the rotation is Dion Waiters. The sophomore struggled for most of the season and went through his share of adversity. He also trimmed down and could be the scoring punch Syracuse needs off the bench. He is probably the best on the team at getting to the hoop, proof in his relentless drives during the tournament loss to Marquette last year. Syracuse also has two true freshmen in Michael Carter-Williams and Trevor Cooney. Both have received positive reviews in practice but coach Jim Boeheim is notorious for his short bench so it’s possible he sticks with Jardine, Triche, and Waiters with the freshman getting minutes sparingly.

Forwards:

Senior small forward Kris Joseph is the other team leader along with Jardine. He has developed slowly throughout his career, going from key bench player, to solid starter and now the potential to be the team’s leading scorer. He has always been strong with the ball, maybe he even too strong considering the amount of charges he got last year. Still, he’s another talented veteran player who can consistently score between 14-20 points every game. His three-point shot improved greatly last year and the hope is that he’s added a pull-up jumper to complement his driving game.

One of the most intriguing names for Syracuse is sophomore C.J. Fair. The lefty quickly became a fan favorite with his unorthodox yet effective game, immediately conjuring up memories of Orange favorite Josh Pace. Fair is battling for a starting position with freshman Rakeem Christmas but ultimately it doesn’t really matter who starts because Fair will certainly be in Boeheim’s crunch-time lineup. The best part about Fair’s game is that he seems to always be in the right spot. He’s added range to his jump-shot and some strength to his upper body. He’s tailor made for the 2-3 zone and will get his share of steals, blocks, and big defensive plays.

Along with Christmas, junior James Southerland is in the mix for minutes at forward. He’s a 6-8 shooter with fantastic athletic ability. Unfortunately his athleticism hasn’t translated to solid defense and rebounding. If he can improve those, he will become another important contributor. Christmas, a McDonald’s All-American is still learning the game on offense and will see the court if he can learn the 2-3 zone and rebound well.

Centers:

Pretty simple here, how far the team goes depends on the inside scoring. Sophomores Fab Melo and Baye Keita offered very little. Melo was the hyped freshman but struggled through weight problems and had a tough time getting used to the rugged and demanding Big East schedule. He’s lost weight and will improve this year. Keita is another offensively-challenged player who will make his mark with good defense and rebounding.

Syracuse can win the national title if:

Scoop Jardine cuts down on turnovers, especially crunch-time turnovers.

Kris Joseph or Brandon Triche become the team’s go-to scoring option

Fab Melo and Baye Keita combined to surpass the production of Rick Jackson last year (13.0 ppg and 10.6 rpg).

Dion Waiters and C.J. Fair avoid the sophomore slump.

The team improves on their 65.9% team free-throw numbers (Last in Big East in 10-11).

They avoid the horrible upset bug over the last 7 years (Vermont, Texas A&M, Butler).

Starting Lineup:

Jardine, Triche, Joseph, Fair, Melo.

Bench: Waiters, Keita, Christmas, Southerland/Carter-Williams.

Late game lineup:

Jardine, Triche, Joseph, Fair, Keita.

Predictions:

Regular Season: 27-4.
NCAA Tournament: Final Four.
Leading Scorer: Kris Joseph.
Breakout Player: C.J. Fair.
Most Improved: Fab Melo.